Study--on your own if you want to know--what happened in the Hostess Union battles to understand why this old crony system of mindless edicts is doomed to either disappear or take down the entire US manufacturing and service industry.
Read the rules, regulations and restrictions that were the center of it all.
It is the classic example of everything bad about Union Bosses.
The Hostess debacle was created by a lack of foresight and marketing plan by Hostess itself. . . and by companies like Bain who were waiting like vultures to "save" what could be saved (obviously, only in terms of "money") and close the doors on workers.
Anyone with a little business sense understand the need for EVERY industry to look at the trend in their consumer basis, and how their product can benefit OR SUFFER from that trend, then adapt their product to move ahead or at least in pace with the new consumer trend.
This is the difference between "sun up" and "sun down" industries.
Cadillac is a good example: Cadillac, once the leader in quality and the darling of America, the PRIDE of American automobile industry, was failing miserably with sharply lower sales.
Why? Simple. Cadillac's customer basis was LITERALLY DYING (not unlike the Republican basis), because that basis of faithful Cadillac customers had now aged, and although that "older group of upper middle class and wealthy, mostly White, mostly men was no longer numerous enough to drive the market of big, old, gas guzlers.
Cadillac was the typical "sundown" industry. And it is only when, FINALLY they got some new blood that understood that they had to change the IMAGE of Cadillac to a more modern, more gas efficient, smaller models, that Cadillac is painfully making a small come back.
Same with Sears. . .it took them MUCH too long to realize that the "image" of Sears as the purvoyer of everything to all of America through their thick catatlog no longer met the need and the preference for the younger, more mobile, more technologically incline and more urban population. Their "faithfull" basis of farmers and country folks was also LITERALLY dying, being replaced by a younger generation of more savvy customers, who found it a lot easier and more interesting to switch from Sears catalogue to Amazon to do their shopping. Today, Sears Catalog have only two values: they may become a collector's item, and they are still helpful at Thanksgiving to give a lift to the 3 and 4 years old grand kids while sitting around a family meal while visiting their grandparents.
Hostess is not any different. No one at Hostess seem to notice that the customer trend was no longer in high calorie, low nutritional value "goodies," and that their once celebrated "dingdongs and twinkies" didn't meet the needs of ANY real customer basis any longer (and that they shouldn't!)
Instead of transforming to move toward healthier and more creative snacks, they continued to keep their head in the sand (again. . .reminds me of the Republican party!). . .and to blame their WORKERS for the downtrend in the sales of their outdated product.
In fact, I am surprise that they are not blaming the First Lady for destroying their business by encouraging kids and parents alike to be more conscious of what they eat, and to push for more "healthy snacks!" I'm sure this will come very soon though!
Yep. . .there is quite a bit to learn in the course of an MBA program!
